Karate Monkey
Well-Known Member
I ran into Pivot Factory Crew at Creek 2 years ago. Those guys were A-Holes.
Just an observation.
I've rarely met factory or team riders that were 'nice'. The ones that were usually had handlers/coaching on how not to be a dick. I've met Jens Voigt in person, and he was nice, in as far as someone who has pretty much nothing in common with you is nice. Still, I'm going to bet if I had bumped into him in Red Bank, recognized who he was, and started trying to talk shop, he'd probably be pretty annoyed. But hey, wouldn't most of us?
There's a lot of turnover in this business, especially in sales. If it's a sales position you're after I'd take a hard pass until the supply chain mess starts to clear up. Which won't be for quite some time.
I'll give the same open-ended advice I gave to a friend of mine before he joined this circus of an industry from the outside. Expect lots of aggravation. Expect lots and lots of telling people things they don't want to hear. Don't expect a lot of money.
That advice was applicable before the pandemic. It's much worse now. But hey, at least you'd be dealing with bikes. PM if you want any further advice.
Uncomfortable truth: in order to make a living as a rep, you need 1) a reliable car, 2) to travel locally a lot, and 3) have multiple brands that you are representing. If you want in on that @Not Rick , find someone who wants to retire (though they usually don't) and ask what they want from you for their territory.
As far as repping a national brand, consider: most shops can do pretty much everything a rep does--except getting favors--from their B2B website. If you don't have a concrete idea of how you are going to offer more than that, or how it can help their business (and your bottom line) to grow, run away.
If it's IT work or something else, I dunno, go for it. Just know that employment at bicycle companies is rarely what you'd consider a 'safe' job. The big ones clear house frequently enough that year-to-year, you may be talking to different people every time you call. Expect there to be a large culling of employees in a few years, too...everyone knows this boom won't last. Ask yourself: is whatever service I am providing to [xyz company] going to justify keeping me on?